The waiter smiled back. ‘Of course.’
Lissa looked around the others expectantly and was disconcerted to find them all staring at her with slightly shocked expressions. She felt like a bug under a microscope.
‘What?’ she asked in confusion. ‘Is that OK? I’m sorry. Don’t we have time for dessert? Do we have to get back to the office?’
‘No, it’s fine,’ Rory answered. He picked up the menu and glanced at it swiftly. ‘I’ll have the white chocolate and raspberry torte.’
‘Just an espresso for me,’ Marnie chimed in.
‘Ditto,’ added James.
‘You’re not having dessert?’ Lissa asked Marnie incredulously after the waiter had left. ‘I never miss dessert,’ she declared emphatically.
Marnie laughed. ‘Well, now we know how to keep you happy. You’ve been quiet as a mouse all lunch and now dessert’s on its way you’ve sprung to life.’ She gave her a critical look. ‘How do you stay so slim if you always eat dessert?’
Lissa shook her head with a smile. ‘I’m not slim. I’m tall—more room to hide it.’
‘No, you’re slim,’ Marnie disagreed. ‘Do you work out?’
‘No, I’m not a gym fan. I just walk the streets looking at things.’
She stole a quick glance at Rory and saw him smiling at her. ‘Playing the tourist?’
‘Absolutely,’ she replied, tilting her chin.
James looked from Rory to her and back again. ‘What do you do to keep fit, then, Rory? You’re in good shape and still knock back dessert.’
‘Rugby,’ came the reply as Rory sat back for the waiter to present the dish.
‘Rugby? You’ll appreciate that, Lissa, coming from the land of the All Blacks,’ James said, smiling at her with a touch of malice. ‘Don’t all Kiwi girls play rugby now too?’
‘Actually, I think of it as Thugby,’ Lissa said, concentrating on slicing her cake with a fork. ‘All that macho male aggression, jumping on each other, mucking around in mud.’ She rolled her eyes.
‘Aren’t you comfortable with macho men?’ Rory challenged. ‘Rugby is a good sport for us Neanderthal types. It provides a safe environment for us work off our energy and frustration.’
Her skin prickled. Frustration, huh? She couldn’t stop raising her brows slightly. She glanced up at him and caught his fiery gaze on her.
‘I can think of better ways to do that,’ James said with his all too familiar lecherous tone.
Lissa ignored him, fascinated instead by the expression on Rory’s face. Amused, heated, knowing. They could all think of a better way to ease frustration, but, while it was James who would express it, it was Rory and Lissa who wanted to do it. She knew it and he knew it. But she couldn’t let that happen.
Marnie filled the sudden silence. ‘Are you looking forward to going home, Lissa?’
Rory looked back to his plate.
‘Yes, I haven’t been back since I left. It’ll be nice to catch up with friends. There are still a million places I want to go to, but I can travel again some time.’
‘You don’t want to stay in London?’
She shrugged. ‘Even if I wanted to I couldn’t. My working visa expires in two months and then I’ll have to leave.’
‘You could always find yourself a British husband, Lissa. Then you could work anywhere in Europe for as long as you like.’ James waggled his eyebrows. ‘If you need someone for the job, just let me know.’
The expression of distaste Rory flicked at James was comical. Lissa gave them both a saccharine smile. ‘Why, thank you anyway, James, but as I only intend to do it the once, if and when I marry it will be for love.’
She looked back at her plate, deciding to get what pleasure she could out of the wonderfully syrupy cake. The citrus scent reminded her of being in Rory’s embrace and she indulged in the headiness of it. She ate each mouthful with relish until she was left with just a few berries and a pile of cream. Throwing all good manners aside, she put her fork down and picked up a single raspberry, swirling it in the cream, covering it completely. Happily she put it in her mouth and licked the remaining cream off her fingers. It was delicious. Just the right amount of liqueur had been added to the cream to give a sweet, warm tingle in the mouth. The tartness of the raspberry a perfect foil. Ignoring the others completely, she repeated the procedure until the last of the berries was gone. Then she dabbed her finger in the cream and licked it off, glancing up and meeting Rory’s eyes as she did so. The burning intensity of his gaze shocked her and she lowered her hand nervously. Desperately she tuned back into the conversation. Marnie and James seemed to be talking tennis.
Lissa couldn’t help but look over to where Rory was dawdling his way through his dessert. ‘What’s the torte like?’
‘Magnificent.’ He looked at her with a sly smile. ‘Want to try some?’
‘Oh, no,’ she said immediately, shaking her head vehemently. ‘No. No, thanks.’
He picked up his fork and speared a piece with it. Then he held it across the table towards her. ‘Go on. You know you want to.’ His voice was as soft and tempting as the cake. His eyes held the dare.
Staring across at him, she felt the dampened flick of desire flame again. Damn, she shouldn’t have been so greedy. With his arm stretched across the table, in front of Marnie and James, it was impossible for her to refuse. Carefully avoiding contact with his fingers, she took the fork he held and lifted it to her mouth. He was right, it was magnificent, but it did nothing to assuage the hunger that clawed at her lower belly.
He was watching her intently. She handed the fork back, uncomfortably aware of the intimacy of sharing it.
‘Care for some more?’ His voice was low and she couldn’t look away from him as she silently shook her head. She sucked her lips in and pressed down on them, desperate not to lick them and show the sexual tension she was feeling. But she knew the action showed it anyway; his eyes flickered as answering heat rose.
Marnie and James had fallen silent, and Lissa remembered their presence with a start. ‘Uh, you guys want to try some?’ she asked with pseudo-brightness trying to shake off the intense atmosphere that had descended over the table. Both declined. Lissa looked away, embarrassed.
James left to make a call while Marnie rose at the same time for a trip to the bathroom. Good manners required Lissa remain and keep Rory company as he slowly ate the rest of his torte.
He looked at her, his eyes focussed on her mouth. ‘You have a little cream.’ He raised his hand to his chin.
‘Oh.’ She lifted a hand and wiped at her own.
He smiled. ‘No, you missed it. Here.’ He reached across the table and ran his finger just under her lower lip.
She breathed in sharply and his finger stopped, still pressed against her. She wanted to taste him with her tongue. She parted her mouth to do just that, desperate to lick her lips, to be ready for him. There was a silence. Then he moved his finger again, upwards this time to stroke over her lip and back again. She sat frozen to the spot, melting.
‘Tell me you don’t want me to touch you,’ he dared her softly.
Lissa had several talents, but lying wasn’t one of them. Her eyes flickered and she was silent. He traced her lips again, the lightness of his touch a teasing torment. She wanted more. She wanted his lips on hers. She leaned closer, her eyes trained on his mouth.
‘Lissa?’ he breathed. ‘Do you feel this? Do you?’
The